The local news outlet En Pozuelo has highlighted the €20,000 donation made by British Council School pupils to the Advanced Therapies Unit for Childhood Cancer at La Paz Hospital. This contribution will support the funding of various research projects aimed at fighting childhood cancer.
Every year in Spain, approximately 1,100 cases of cancer are diagnosed in children under the age of 15, along with around 400 additional cases in adolescents over 14. Recognising the crucial role of research in combating this disease, British Council School in Madrid has presented a symbolic cheque for €20,000 to the Advanced Therapies Unit for Childhood Cancer at La Paz Hospital to finance different research projects. This sum was raised by the school’s pupils in 2024, continuing over 20 years of collaboration with the CRIS Cancer Foundation in the fight against childhood cancer.
The donation will go entirely to the Advanced Therapies Unit for Childhood Cancer, funded by CRIS Cancer Foundation at La Paz Hospital. It represents significant financial support for the multidisciplinary team led by Dr Antonio Pérez Martínez, Head of the Paediatric Haemato-Oncology Department at the hospital.
Thanks to the funds raised by British Council School, along with AVCSBCS and BIOOR associations through various charity initiatives, the donation will help finance Project Mateo, a research initiative focused on developing CAR-T therapy for juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML). This rare form of cancer was diagnosed in Mateo shortly after birth over a decade ago. Although he has since recovered, his parents—both British Council School alumni—have turned their experience into a cause to improve treatment options and bring hope to other children affected by the disease.
With this initiative, British Council School reaffirms its commitment to solidarity and medical research, actively contributing to improving the prognosis and quality of life of children with cancer in Spain. This donation demonstrates how unity and collective effort can make a real difference in the fight against childhood cancer.